Visit popular temples in downtown Beijing! The incense is very popular during the Spring Festival, and it was also the home of Emperor Yongzheng and Qianlong

Travel with history! I am Yiming!

Continue to visit the top 10 places of interest in Beijing, and the second stop is the Lama Temple!

The Lama Temple is located in the northeast corner of Beijing's old city, just across the street from Ditan Park. It was built in the 33rd year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1694) and has a history of more than 300 years. At that time, it was the Prince Yong's Mansion given to the fourth son Yinzhen by Emperor Kangxi.

After the fourth elder brother Yinzhen ascended the throne and became the Yongzheng Emperor, he changed the palace into a temporary palace, and it has since been called "Yonghe Palace".

In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng (1735), Emperor Yongzheng died and his coffin was parked here. Therefore, the main hall of Yonghe Temple was changed from green glazed tiles to yellow glazed tiles.

Not only that, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the future Emperor Qianlong was also born in Yonghe Palace. Two emperors were born in Yonghe Palace, which was known as the "Longqian Blessed Land", so the yellow color of the palace The red tile walls have the same specifications as the Forbidden City Palace.

In the ninth year of Qianlong (1744), the Lama Temple was converted into a Lama Temple, and became the center of the Qing Dynasty in charge of Tibetan Buddhist affairs across the country. It was also the highest-standard temple in the country in the middle and late Qing Dynasty.

After introducing the history of Yonghe Temple, let’s talk about the architectural layout of the entire temple.

Yonghegong faces south, covering an area of ??66,000 square meters, and has 661 rooms. It integrates the artistic styles of Han, Manchu, Tibetan and other ethnic groups. It is divided into three roads: east, middle and west. The middle road has The central axis consists of a seven-entry courtyard and a five-story hall, and there are many auxiliary halls and auxiliary buildings on the left and right.

The buildings on the middle road mainly include Zhaotai Gate, Tianwang Hall, Yonghe Palace, Yongyou Hall, Falun Hall, Wanfu Pavilion, etc.

When you first enter the Lama Temple, you will first see the archway courtyard at the southern end of the entire temple, which is where the tickets are sold. There are three wooden archways in the east, west and north and a glazed brick screen wall on the south side.

Passing through the wooden archway and the long chariot road is the Zhaotai Gate on the top of the mountain with yellow glazed tiles. On both sides of the gate, there are places where the temple distributes free incense.

To the north of Zhaotai Gate is the Tianwang Hall, also called Yonghe Gate. It was originally the main entrance of Prince Yong's Mansion, with a width of five rooms. In the hall, there are statues of Budai monk and the four heavenly kings.

There is also an imperial stele pavilion behind the palace. Inside the pavilion is a square stele, on which articles written by Emperor Qianlong are engraved in four languages: Manchu, Han, Mongolian and Tibetan.

Further north is the Yonghe Palace. It was originally the Yin'an Hall of Prince Yong's Palace, but was later rebuilt into the main hall of the Yonghe Palace, which is equivalent to the Main Hall of ordinary temples. There are statues of the Third Buddha and the Eighteen Arhats in the hall.

Passing through the main hall of Yonghe Temple, you will arrive at Yongyou Hall, which was originally the residence of Emperor Yongzheng and also became a shadow hall dedicated to the late emperor. Yongyou means to forever bless the soul of the late emperor. Now there are three Buddha statues carved from white sandalwood with a height of 2.35 meters in the center of the hall.

Further back, we reach the Falun Hall. This hall is unique in shape, seven rooms wide, and looks like a cross when viewed from the air. There are 5 skylights and 5 Tibetan-style gold-plated domes on the top of the hall. , is the place where the monks of Yonghe Temple hold major Buddhist activities.

In the middle of the hall, there is a 6.1-meter-tall bronze seated statue of Master Tsongkhapa. Behind the hall, there are also the Five Hundred Arhats Mountain carved from red sandalwood and the three basins used by Emperor Qianlong after his birth!

Further north from the Falun Hall is the Wanfu Pavilion, the tallest building of the Lama Temple. The entire building is 25 meters high. Inside the pavilion is a wooden statue of Maitreya standing 18 meters above the ground and 8 meters underground, with a total height of 26 meters. , its main trunk is carved from a whole white sandalwood tree, which is very shocking!

On the east and west sides of Wanfu Pavilion are Yongkang Pavilion and Yansui Pavilion, which are connected by suspended corridors. The buildings themselves are also very magnificent.

Finally, there is the Suicheng Hall at the northernmost end of the entire Lama Temple. It is seven rooms wide. There is a platform in front of the hall connected to the Wanfu Pavilion. The white umbrella-covered Buddha statue is enshrined in the hall.

In addition to the five most important buildings on the central axis, namely the Tianwang Hall, Yonghegong Hall, Yongyou Hall, Falun Hall, and Wanfu Pavilion, there are Zhaofo Tower, Jietai Tower, and Medicine Master Hall on both sides. The lecture hall and other side halls are also worth visiting and worshiping.

Anyway, whether it is because of its reputation as the most popular temple in Beijing, its numerous historical stories, or its exquisite architectural sculptures, Yonghe Temple is definitely one of the places of interest you must visit when traveling to Beijing! Especially during the Spring Festival, there are huge crowds of tourists praying for blessings!